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Victorious
Victorious was an American family television series created by Dan Schneider for Nickelodeon. The series revolves around aspiring singer Tori Vega, portrayed by Victoria Justice, who attends a performing arts high school called Hollywood Arts High School. The series' pilot episode premiered on March 27, 2010 to high viewer numbers. Main characters Tori Vega *'Tori Vega' is the younger sister of Trina Vega. After Trina cannot perform for the showcase, Tori fills in for her. Then she becomes a member of Hollywood Arts, a performing arts school in Los Angeles, California. Then she thinks that Hollywood Arts is not the perfect school. Then when she learns how to do Alphabetacal Improv she decides to stay at Hollywood Arts. Andre Harris * Andre Harris (Leon Thomas III) André is one of Tori's best friends, they meet through Trina who had to work with Andre for the big showcase and he is an amazingly gifted musician. He loves to play for his friends. André is the guy everyone likes and respects for his obvious creativity. Robbie Shapiro * Robert "Robbie" Shapiro (Matt Bennett) Robbie is a shy and awkward student at Hollywood Arts, so it makes sense that he is more comfortable speaking through a "dummy." Robbie is a master ventriloquist and Rex Powers is his puppet alter-ego and very hip companion. Jade West *'Jade West' (Elizabeth Gilles) and Tori started out as enemies, but as the show went on they became friends, although Jade always denies she is Tori's friend. She is also Beck's girlfriend. Cat Valentine *'Catherina "Cat" Valentine' (Ariana Grande) is a super sensitive drama queen with flighty tendencies. She is guilty of being an over-actor and is always at level 10 emotionally. Though Cat can be a lot to handle, she is a best friend to Tori. Beck Oliver *'Beck Oliver' (Avan Jogia) is handsome, funny and down-to-earth. He is Jade's boyfriend and is close with Andre, Robbie, Cat, and Tori. Beck is also nice, sweet, and funny and always friendly to everybody, including those that he doesn't know so well, which also reinforcing his status as popular. Trina Vega *'Trina Vega' (Daniella Monet) is Tori's older sister by about two years. Though she is likeable, everything is always about herself. It's been like that forever and she truly believes stardom is her destiny. She overshadows Tori, thinking that she's more talented. The truth: Trina has the attitude of an A-list star but the actual talent of a much lower grade. Minor characters Sinjin van Cleef * Sinjin van Cleef (Michael Eric Reid) is a dorky and somewhat creepy boy at Hollywood Arts. He has a crush on Jade, but she can't stand him. On season 1, episode 9 'Wi-Fi in The Sky', Sinjin sneaks himself into Jade's house while she was at Beck's trailer video-chating with Tori, Andre, Cat and Beck when Sinjin joins the video chat where soon after Jade realises it's her house. Sinjin was intended to be a one-time character, but Schneider enjoyed Reid's performance so much that he cast him in nearly every episode of the series. He is also the only non-major character so far to have a profile on TheSlap.com. His name is a portmanteau of Sen'jin and Edwin van Cleef, both characters from the popular online game "World of Warcraft." Erwin Sikowitz *'Erwin Sikowitz' (Eric Lange) is the school's barefoot acting teacher. He has strange methods of teaching. Tori (and possibly everyone else) believes he is crazy. He also loves drinking coconut milk because it gives him "visions." Now he has a profile on The Slap. Mr. & Mrs. Vega *'Mr. and Mrs. Vega' (Jim Pirri and Jennifer Carta) are Tori and Trina's parents. They have been seen in the episodes Pilot, The Birthweek Song and sleepover at sikowitz. Although Tori and Trina Vega's mom has been featured in more episodes than their father, she was seen in the episode Robarrazzi and a film by dale squires. They are depicted as typical parents from a teenager's point of view: caring parents that look after their kids, but can be embarrassments sometimes. In "Pilot" & "The Birthweek Song," Tori revealed that her dad is a cop. Lane Alexander *'Lane' (Lane Napper) is the school guidance counselor. He often helps resolve problems and catches students who ditch classes. Production Victorious is the sixth series created by Dan Schneider for Nickelodeon, following Kenan & Kel, The Amanda Show, Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, and iCarly. Schneider first met Justice in 2005, when she was twelve and arrived to audition for the part of Lola Martinez on Zoey 101. Impressed by her energy and look, Schneider hired her and, after working with her on three episodes, called Nickelodeon to say, "I’ve got your next star." Justice continued her role on Zoey 101 until the series ended in 2008. In the meantime, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon's main competitor, had experienced immense success with franchises like Hannah Montana and High School Musical, which featured original songs and generated revenue through music as well as television. Seeking to "follow where the kids are", Nickelodeon executives asked Schneider to create a music-based show for the channel. Near the end of Zoey 101's run, Justice was summoned to meet with Schneider about a potential series starring her. While discussing possible concepts for the series during the meeting, Justice mentioned that she had attended a performing arts middle school. The idea intrigued Schneider, who recognized the appeal of series concerning fame. "If there is anything I've learned about kids today—and I'm not saying this is good or bad—it's that they all want to be stars," said Schneider. Marjorie Cohn, who was then Nickelodeon's executive vice president of original programming and development, agreed. "Every kid thinks they're five minutes away and one lucky circumstance from being famous," Cohn stated. She noted that Schneider's iCarly, a sitcom about a girl who hosts a popular web show, was spurred by the rise of YouTube celebrities and had become a successful show for Nickelodeon. On August 13, 2008, Nickelodeon announced that Justice had signed "an overall talent and music deal" with the company, agreeing to star in a then-untitled musical-comedy series about a girl who attends a performing arts high school. While discussing the show's premise, Schneider stated that while it would be nice if more children "wanted to be teachers and social workers" instead of celebrities, "At least in 'Victorious,' you see a world where they're all working on the talent part." Nickelodeon Productions and the Columbia/Epic Label Group of Sony Music Entertainment agreed to co-produce the series as part of a partnership to develop talent and release their music. Reception Critical reception The series as a whole earned generally mixed reviews. Variety magazine reviewer Brian Lowry wrote, "Victorious has been cobbled together with the wooden-headed market in mind." David Hinkley of the New York Daily News says the series' format is nearly identical to iCarly and hopes that the series will develop a "more distinctive personality" over the course of the season. Roger Catlin of the Hartford Courant describes Victorious as "harmless but hardly entertaining". Mark A. Perigard of the Boston Herald titled his review "Victorious is a big loser" and writes, "The bulk of the cast mugs for the cameras, probably to compensate for a script that could have been commissioned from fifth-graders." Linda Stasi of the New York Post was mixed; she agreed that the episode contained over-acting performers, "corny" dialogue and a "terribly, terribly loud laugh track", but believed it was "a 'surefire tween hit". However, reviewers were positive about Justice's performance and suggested that series' potential hinged on her. Hinkley comments, "At this point, Justice is better at singing than acting, and the show doesn't flow as smoothly as iCarly," but Justice "has the personality and talent" needed for a shot at being "the Next Big Teen Thing". Perigard describes her as "undeniably appealing" and Lowry states, "Justice is winsome and talented enough to provide the latest show a leg up in connecting with teen girls." Viewership The series premiere did well among viewers. The pilot episode, advertised as a "sneak preview" of the series, aired after the 2010 Kids' Choice Awards on March 27, 2010 to 5.7 million viewers. This audience made Victorious Nickelodeon's highest rated live-action series debut. VictoriousTemplate:'s second episode was advertised as the series' official premiere and drew 3.48 million viewers. By comparison, Nickelodeon's Big Time Rush received 3.5 million viewers for its "sneak preview" debut in November 2009, and 6.8 million viewers for its "premiere" in January 2010. On June 4, 2010, the episode "Robarazzi" became the most watched episode of the series to date, with 6.0 million total viewers, including 3.3 million in the Kids 6-11 demographic, and 2.2 million in the Tweens 9-13 demographic. Then on April 2, 2011, the Season 2 premiere of "'Beggin' on Your Knees" became the series most watched episode to date, earning 6.1 million viewers, just over "Robarazzi"s premiere viewership. Awards Episodes Filming began on October 5, 2009 and ended on April 14, 2010. 20 episodes were produced for the show's first season. ''iCarly'' & Victorious crossover special Dan Schneider the creator of iCarly and Victorious has confirmed via his Facebook and Twitter that a crossover special between the two shows are now completed, as of August 29, 2010. Later that night the script was sent out and the following day it went into production. Production lasted about 3 weeks long. The episode aired June 10, 2011, It was a 3-part episode called iParty with Victorious. This will feature the casts of Victorious and iCarly. Music CD: Make It Shine ' Artist: Victoria Justice Album: Victorious (soundtrack) Released: Recorded: 2010 Genre: Pop rock, dance-pop, powerpop Label: Nickelodeon Records, Columbia Records Writer: Victoria Justice, Dr. Luke, Michael Corcoran Producer: Dr. Luke Chronology: Victoria Justice singles This single: "'Make It Shine" (2010) Next single: "Finally Falling" (2010) "Make It Shine" is the theme song for Victorious, and is performed by Justice. It was co-written by Justice, Dr. Luke and Michael Cororan and released as Justice's debut single on April 13, 2010. The song is an up-tempo power-pop song with elements of dance and rock . The song has peaked at #16 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.Template:Citation needed Victorious features approximately one song every three episodes. Most songs were sung or co-sung by Justice. Series end On August 10, 2012, series creator Dan Schneider confirmed that the fourth season would be the last. Nickelodeon chose not to renew the series, in keeping with their practice of running shows for approximately 60 episodes. He pointed out that the show was not canceled, which is usually applied to shows that have low ratings, which is not the case for Victorious. Schneider further stated that he plans on each series he creates for Nickelodeon having 60 episodes.[http://danwarp.blogspot.com/2012/08/victorious.html Series creator Dan Schneider confirms end of Victorious] Trivia *Cat Valentine from Victorious has her own spin-off series called Sam & Cat. **Mr. Sikowitz will guest star in an episode of that show. External links * * * Victorious Show page at Nick.com * Victorious Wiki * Victorious Wiki (Spanish) * TheSlap.com References de:Victorious nl:Victorious Category:Live-action shows Category:Cancelled shows Category:Kids' Choice Awards winners Category:2010s premieres Category:2010s endings